Su Jiu forcibly suppressed the urge to slap the [Dragon Saliva Stone] back into Su Ji's face.
She stiffened her expression again, her voice cooling by three degrees.
"Speak."
Seeing Su Jiu's demeanor soften slightly, Su Ji quickly seized the opportunity. "It's crucial."
As expected, though Su Jiu didn't ask directly, her perked ears and slight forward lean betrayed her curiosity.
Su Ji cleared his throat, his exaggerated expression fading as an unprecedented gravity settled over him.
"Junior Sister, do you remember when I asked you if Foundation Establishment requires overcoming a lightning tribulation?"
Su Jiu paused, then nodded without a word.
Su Ji continued, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"When I establish my foundation, there will definitely be a lightning tribulation."
"And not just any ordinary one."
He hesitated, recalling the visions from his glimpse into fate.
"To be precise, it's a divine punishment."
"Once I begin my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, the divine punishment will descend, covering at least a fifty-mile radius centered on me."
"At that moment, you, me, and everyone in the Love-Longing Sect—every living thing—will be reduced to ashes in an instant."
The cavern fell into a terrifying silence.
Only the distant roars of the fire drake and the bubbling of flowing magma could be heard.
Su Jiu was inclined to believe him.
Su Ji's ability to foresee the future was nothing short of horrifying.
No wonder...
"So, you came here to..."
Su Ji cut her off. "Exactly."
"This is the only solution I could think of."
"Only deep underground, hundreds of meters below the surface, can I possibly evade the divine punishment and complete my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!"
The sheer weight of his words left Su Jiu's mind racing as she pieced everything together.
Even in the midst of his life-or-death pursuit of the Dao, Su Ji had still taken the time to retrieve the potentially useful [Dragon Saliva Stone] for her.
Her fingers tightened around the still-warm stone, her knuckles whitening as her clear fox eyes filled with doubt.
"But... Senior Brother, are you certain this place can shield you from the tribulation?"
Her voice carried skepticism as she laid out the facts.
"We're barely a hundred zhang beneath the surface."
"Given what you've described—if the tribulation's power truly spans fifty miles centered on you..."
"This... given its destructive force... there's a ninety percent chance it won't work."
She wasn't questioning him—just stating the obvious.
A hundred zhang underground might seem deep to an ordinary cultivator, but against what Su Ji called a "divine punishment," such distance would hardly be enough.
"Though... the power might be slightly diminished..."
Yet, Su Ji showed no trace of panic.
"I don't know. All I know is that if I stay here, I'll survive the tribulation."
His words shattered Su Jiu's understanding.
How?
If the Heavenly Dao intends to punish you, how could simply changing locations make it relent?
This defied all logic!
"But—"
"Junior Sister." Su Ji interrupted again, leaning in abruptly until their faces were inches apart.
His gaze locked onto her bewildered fox-like eyes.
"Has any future I've foreseen ever deviated from reality?"
Su Jiu fell silent.
No.
Not even the slightest discrepancy.
"I only have one life. I wouldn't gamble with it."
Su Jiu was at a loss for words.
She trusted Su Ji.
But she couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind this.
It contradicted every bit of cultivation knowledge she had learned from her clan's ancient texts.
Seeing her still-furrowed brows, Su Ji abruptly shifted topics.
"Don't waste time worrying about the tribulation."
"Instead, you should focus on... something else."
"What else?"
Su Ji's expression darkened further, more solemn than when he had mentioned the "divine punishment."
"Besides the divine punishment..."
"When I establish my foundation, I'll also trigger... an inner demon."
An inner demon?
Su Jiu froze.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
Divine punishment and an inner demon?
Anyone listening would think a supreme expert was ascending to the upper realm.
Was this really the kind of spectacle a Qi Refining cultivator should face when breaking through to Foundation Establishment?
Su Ji's troubles seemed even more outrageous than those of a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox like her.
"Are you certain, Senior Brother?"
Her voice wavered slightly.
Su Ji nodded heavily, his face etched with helpless resignation.
"Absolutely."
Su Jiu was truly at a loss now.
Her delicate brows knitted as she frantically combed through her clan's records for any mention of inner demons.
"Inner demons... I know very little."
Her voice was soft, tinged with defeat.
"But like heavenly tribulations, outsiders can hardly interfere."
"I do have some methods to calm the mind and steady the spirit—ways to help you stabilize your consciousness."
"But when it comes to confronting the inner demon... in the end, you'll have to rely on yourself."
The moment she finished speaking, Su Ji's eyes lit up. He seized her hand and began playing with her fingers.
"Any help is better than none!"
Buff or no buff, he'd take what he could get.
Su Jiu was caught off guard by his sudden enthusiasm.
She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Su Ji only tightened his grip.
"Senior Brother, let go first."
"This... this method is a bit... unconventional."
"How unconventional?"
Her cheeks flushed as she averted her gaze, unable to meet his unnervingly bright eyes.
"It's called [Soul and Flesh Entwined]."
Her voice was barely audible, the last few words likely only reaching her own ears.
"It's a secret art of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox lineage, usable only by those with pure bloodline."
"To perform it, the caster and recipient must... synchronize their minds, merge their spiritual senses, and become one."
Su Ji blinked, baffled.
"Junior Sister, speak plainly. I don’t understand."
Su Jiu bit her lower lip.
"Don’t worry about it. If you truly can’t overcome the inner demon, then we’ll discuss it..."
She doubted it would come to that.
Just look at Su Ji—even while fleeing for his life, he couldn’t resist taunting the fire drake.
How could someone like him possibly have an inner demon?
If anything, the ones developing inner demons should be the people who crossed paths with him.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
